Management proposals for the Scottish wrasse fishery: EIR release

Information requested

An update on management proposals the 2025 and future Scottish wrasse fishery. In particular can you tell me at your earliest possible opportunity:

1. When the Appropriate Assessments, required as a consequence of ESS investigation IESS.24.029, for all relevant SACs and MPAs will be completed?

2. When these Appropriate Assessments will be published in full?

3. Please can you send SIFT a copy of these Appropriate Assessments as soon as possible, either in draft or in its final form?

4. When NatureScot’s advice relating to the AAs will be published?

5. How the impact on protected features inside relevant SACs and MPAs, of fishing activity outside the SACs and MPAs has been assessed as part of the AAs?

6. What engagement Marine Directorate has had with prospective wrasse fishers – I understand that an Application Form was issued in April. Please could you send me a copy of that document, and any others MD has issued regarding the fishery?

7. What is the deadline date for installing iVMS on all wrasse fishing boats?

8. How wrasse fishing locations including within relevant SACs and MPAs, outside those areas but affecting relevant SACs and MPAs, and elsewhere will be monitored before all wrasse fishing vessels have operational iVMS?

9. How effort will be monitored in the wrasse fishery – will REM be required to monitor gear deployed? I understand that MD has requested information from fishers on the number of creels to be used on relevant sites, but it is unclear how answers to that request at the start of the season will be accurate as the season progresses and the demand for wrasse fluctuates.

10. What measures – especially changes to the fishing season dates – are being implemented in order to address the current overlap between wrasse fishing activity and the wrasse spawning and nest guarding seasons.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

1. The Fisheries Assessment of the interaction between the wild wrasse fishery and Marine Protected Areas network was completed on 2 June 2025.

2. The Fisheries Assessment is currently going through internal prepublication procedures and will be published on the Scottish Government web site towards the end of this week. We are currently withholding the Appropriate Assessment in full until it clears Scottish Government publication protocols.

An exception under regulation 10 (4)(d)of the EIRs (unfinished or incomplete information) applies to all of the information you have requested because it is material which is still in the course of completion, and is going though the final stages of prepublication.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government and this will be met by our planned publication on 13 June.

However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that unfinished or incomplete information which is still being worked on or is under active consideration is not disclosed when it might misinform the public or give a misleading impression of the Government’s view or position on the matter to which the information relates.

1. A copy of the Fisheries Assessment will be sent to you at the earliest opportunity once the document has gone live.

2. The NatureScot advice relating to the Fisheries Assessments will be published together, currently anticipated on 13 June.

3. Impact of fishing activity on protected features inside and outside of relevant SACs and MPS has been considered within the Appropriate Assessment and is covered within the document.

4. Copies of the application and its cover within Marine Directorate are enclosed (see Doc(s) 1 & 2).

5. The answer to this question is in the Fisheries Assessment that will publish this week. (as set out above).

6. The Marine Directorate implements a risk-based approach when carrying out operational activities, such as inspections at sea or in ports, so that its staff and resources can be focused on the areas which represent the greatest risk. This approach enables the Directorate to make the most have an efficient and effective use of its resources, minimise costs and be flexible when responding to new risks and issues.

7. Marine Directorate has no current plans to deploy REM systems in the wild wrasse fishery in order to monitor creels numbers deployed. Authorised fishers are restricted by their licence to operating with a maximum of 250 traps or pots within a 24 hrs period whilst persecuting the wrasse fishery. Marine Directorate will keep these monitoring arrangements’ and restrictions under review and is already committed to the use of I-VMS.

8. The answer to this question is in the Fisheries Assessment that will publish this week.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202500465704 - Information released - Documents

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